Yury Sisikin

Foil fencer Yury Sisikin was recognised as the best athlete of the 20th century in any sport in the Saratov region of the Soviet Union. Sisikin was a multiple-time national champion, with his success replicated on the international stage. From 1957 to 1968 he represented the USSR national team, winning multiple medals at several international sports competitions. At the World Championships he won a team silver in 1958 before winning five golds in the same event from 1959 to 1966. He also won three team golds at the European Cup from 1965 to 1968.

In 1960 Sisikin made his first of three appearances as a competitor at the Olympics, where he won gold in the team event along with an individual silver. Four years later the Soviet team successfully defended their foil title with a 9–7 victory over Poland. Sisikin returned to the Olympics in 1968, where this time the USSR team won silver in Mexico City after losing 9–6 to France in the final.

Sisikin retired shortly after the 1968 Games to become an international fencing judge, with him officiating at the 1980 and 1988 Olympics, along with 12 editions of the World Championships. He then served as the director of the Children and Youth Sports School of Fencing in Saratov before being inducted into the International Fencing Federation Hall of Fame in 2024.